You can see the wine country from the air on a hot-air balloon ride with Vista Balloon Adventures (tel. 800/622-2309 or 503/625-7385; www.vistaballoon.com), which charges $179 per person for a 1-hour flight (with hot breakfast and sparkling wine). Alternatively, between March and October, you can opt for a flight over the region in a glider. Contact Cascade Soaring, McMinnville Airport (tel. 503/472-8805), which offers a variety of flights ranging in duration from 15 to 55 minutes and in price from $50 to $170. Gliders carrying one or two passengers are used.
Seven miles south of Newberg off Ore. 219, on the banks of the Willamette River, is Champoeg State Park (pronounced Sham-poo-ee) (tel. 503/678-1251). The park includes a campground, a bike path, a picnic area, a historic home, a log cabin, and a visitor center that traces Champoeg's history from its days as a Native American village up through its pioneer farming days. Park admission is $3.
The Aurora Colony--An interesting chapter in Oregon pioneer history is preserved 13 miles south of Oregon City in the town of Aurora, which was founded in 1855 as a Christian communal society. Similar to such better-known communal experiments as the Amana Colony and the Shaker communities, the Aurora Colony lasted slightly more than 20 years. Today Aurora is a National Historic District and the large old homes of the community's founders have been restored. Many of the old commercial buildings now house antiques stores. You can learn the history of Aurora at the Old Aurora Colony Museum, Second and Liberty streets (tel. 503/678-5754; www.auroracolonymuseum.com). February through December, the museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11am to 4pm and on Sunday from noon to 4pm. The museum is closed in January. Admission is $3.50 for adults, $3 for seniors, and $1.50 for children under 18.
